HELP!!! HSD HR Coilovers Will not lower below stock height!!
 

Have a set of hsd hr coilovers on my 2002 wrx sti. The front set of coilovers are mm's away from touching the driveshaft and the car is still basically at stock height (you can stick 2.5-3 fingers between the tyre and the guard).

I concluded that the front coilovers supplied to me were perhaps 5-7cm's too long but I've sent them back to HSD (Otomoto) in Sydney and Grant the manager of Otomoto whom I spoke to over the phone, advised they were identical to the other GDB fronts he was selling.

So now I am completely baffled. My conclusion was that if there was 5-7centimetres less of thread, I'd be able to lower it. Please weigh in on this. And no, I have not installed the rear coilovers in the front and the front coilovers in the rear (see photos).

[b]Car sitting at just below stock height (2.5 - 3 fingers between tyre & guard) :[/b]
[URL=http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7504/frontpassengerside1.jpg][IMG]http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7504/frontpassengerside1.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]Heaps of thread and millimetres away from making contact with the driveshaft:[/b]
[URL=http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9157/frontpassengerside2.jpg][IMG]http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9157/frontpassengerside2.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]Pictures of rear coilovers to confirm incorrect installation has not occured:[/b]
Also to confirm this, front coilovers have the full circular camber top and the rears half the almost complete circular camber top.
[/b][URL=http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/9840/rearpassengerside.jpg][IMG]http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/9840/rearpassengerside.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6761/rearpassengerside1.jpg][IMG]http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6761/rearpassengerside1.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]Front coilovers removed from car:[/b]
[URL=http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9500/01112010069.jpg][IMG]http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9500/01112010069.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]Front suspension length from Camber plate to base of thread:[/b]
[u]45cm from under the camber plate to base of thread. Does this sound about right??? Can anyone confirm this?[/u]
[URL=http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3784/01112010068.jpg][IMG]http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3784/01112010068.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]There is way too much thread. Thread already protrudes from the coilover base and is only below stock height:[/b]
[URL=http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6965/01112010070.jpg][IMG]http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6965/01112010070.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


Grant also asked me whether my car was modified or is an import and the answer is no and no. The car is ADM and factory with 83000 kms on it so everything is original from factory.

What do you think?

Can you also conclude that the front coilovers are way too long ? IMO the fronts supplied are way too long. I've had tein SS before this and from memory are not this long. And I've surfed the interwebs lookin at other peoples build threads and it doesnt look right...


[b]2003 HSD HR[/b]
[url]http://bbs.scoobynet.com/showpost.php?p=8862180&postcount=26[/url]

[b]GDB tein flex:[/b]
[img]http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/2/4716/581/24287790007_large.jpg[/img]

[b]compare this and this:[/b]
The distance between the spring clamp and the base clamp look the same however my thread continues to protrude from the base..you can't even see the knob on the posters 2003 wrx front coilover.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/stevebt/IMG_0231.jpg[/img]
Thats a pic off the interwebs.. Can anyone help me to a photo of front hsd hrs so I can compare or can you even tell the difference by just looking at it??

Lowering the car should take the coilover further away from the CV Boot. The roll centre is changing upwards not downwards.

Instead of the driveshaft having a tighter angle to the wheel radius as you lower it, it should flatten out and be almost perpendicular.

The Boot wouldnt change distance much if at all anyway.

Hey mate,

I got the email from Otomoto yesterday asking for some advice on the matter (as I’ve sold plenty of these HSD’s with no dramas).. although they weren’t purchased from me, I’m happy to help and I’m sure the Perth-WRX crew would be also.

I’ve seen this before and not just with HSD’s.. plenty of other coilovers sit very close to the CV boot. It all comes down to how you have the droop setup. That damper should be screwed up further so there is nothing protruding past the bottom bracket. You need to reset the ride height with the lower spring base.

The length of your front struts looks right also.. it doesn't look any different to any other front HSD HR strut.

Umm...lowering the spring plate will not alter the distance between the bottom of the damper and the driveshaft boot...that is fixed.
Saying that, it is a well known issue that a coilover damper tube with an adjuster (protruding) at the bottom will be closer to an STi driveshaft than a WRX one. For example, DMS coilovers have a recessed adjuster to alleviate this.

This may seem like stating the obvious, but did you try to turn the strut so it sits lower in the strut mount? Or does this then leave the strut sitting below the strut mount and hitting the driveshaft?

What about playing with the spring seat and adjusting the preload?

[QUOTE=nauli;511012]Umm...lowering the spring plate will not alter the distance between the bottom of the damper and the driveshaft boot...that is fixed.[/QUOTE]

Thats not what I said.. I suggested he drop the lower bracket down on the damper to create more clearance between the bottom of the damper and the CV boot, and adjust the ride height to suit by lowering the spring seat.

Gday Evo dude,

They will do lower... if this is what you want. (I have 02 Sti as well, had HSD's for 4 years). I had to remove the green damper adjust cap to allow it though.

But I've gone from wayyyy low, (Not quite Bakker-spec... :p), back up again. As 335mm is the figure Wheels World and Co use as the best compromise between looks/handling.

Too low is shit. A couple of fingers sounds about right. Grab a tape measure to be sure.

Brent.
:)

ohhh I get you BALISTC!! .. The manual that came with it said to have the spring seat captive and adjust height buy adjusting loosening the base clamp and rotating the strut clockwise/anticlockwise.

This is what you mean hey BALISTC?
[URL=http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/9809/lower.jpg][IMG]http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/9809/lower.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]

omg that makes sense now. FFS my mechanic has been charging me storage fee since last monday garr.

The manual says:
[QUOTE]Height Adjustment

Height adjustment should be carried out only with the coilover base.
The spring seat should only be used to hold the spring in a captive
state.
The coilovers should have been fitted at the highest position (with
20mm of the damper thread inside the base) To adjust the height
once the coilovers are fitted, the top nut on the damper must be
loosened. Next loosen the lock nut on the coilover base and rotate
the entire coilover assembly, screwing it into the base to adjust the
height downwards. To adjust by equal amounts on each side it may[/QUOTE]

jus spoke to Grant and he raised the concern of what happens when you driver over a crest and the suspension extends to its full length.

In response to this concern, Grant has sent helper springs.

I must say HSD distributors and resellers are excellent people to deal with!!